WORKFORCE AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
WHILE CRAFTING THIS PLAN , THE LEADERSHIP
COMMITTEE EMPHASIZED THE
IMPORTANCE OF USING THE PROJECT TO LEVERAGE JOBS …
India Basin was a hub for boat building and repair from the 1860s through the 1990s . At the turn of the 20th century , the neighborhood was also home to a thriving shrimping industry . Additionally , the Hunters Point Dry Docks and Hunters Point Naval Shipyard employed thousands of workers during World War II . Aside from these robust periods , BVHP ’ s employment opportunities have waxed and waned over time , leaving many residents behind due to regional disinvestment and rapid changes in technology .
Today , the City of San Francisco ’ s Office of Workforce & Economic Development ( OEWD ) offers job training in four targeted , emerging industries : hospitality , health care , technology and construction . In direct connection with the India Basin Waterfront Park project , job creation and training in construction are key initiatives of the Equitable Development Plan .
Direct investments in the local workforce and small business development are also key components of the plan . Some of the earliest ideas in the EDP process have focused on business opportunities within the Park itself , including the creation of brick-and-mortar spaces for businesses or park programming .
The community has communicated a vision of economic development that would also extend beyond the Park , along Innes Avenue and toward the Third Street corridor . A comprehensive program to support local , and particularly Blackowned , businesses — including grants , loans and fellowship opportunities — is needed to begin to reverse decades of economic disinvestment in BVHP .
38 INDIA BASIN EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN | AREA OF FOCUS # 2